Quotables
Trey Sneed on his first year at Rutgers:
“It’s been exciting and you can feel the buzz around the program. Since January, we have been hitting it hard. There has not been any rest up until now. We are trying to learn, get better and get as good as we can get for that September 3rd game against Washington.”
Quanzell Lambert on playing under a new coaching staff:
“I went through the whole thing with [Greg] Schiano leaving as a recruit. So I would not let anything like that faze me as a fifth-year senior.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five Breakout Player Candidates
5.) Dacoven Bailey
4.) Ron’Dell Carter
3.) Tariq Cole
2.) Trey Sneed
1.) Jawuan Harris
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers will play two true freshman in the season opener
Recruiting Tidbits
LB Drew Singleton – Paramus Catholic
The state’s top senior continues to be a high priority target for Rutgers as head coach Chris Ash is making a strong effort to keep him in state. Scarlet Nation has learned that Rutgers is right up among Singleton’s top schools, along with Clemson. The Singleton family will be keeping a close eye on Rutgers this season and if the Scarlet Knights can be competitive, it would go a long way towards landing a commitment from Singleton. Ash has really done well considering Rutgers was not in the running for Singleton prior to his arrival from Ohio State.
OL Mekhi Becton – Highland Springs (Va.)
Rutgers made the final seven for the four-star prospect and the staff remains hard at work trying to recruit him. Becton updated Scarlet Nation on the latest in his recruitment.
“Nothing new really going on, I’m just working hard and getting ready for this upcoming season. I talk to Coach Blazek the most from Rutgers, just about every other day. He’s been telling me that I’m a real dominant player that they need at their program. I don’t have any plans yet to but I will visit Rutgers before I make any decisions. I’m currently hearing the most from UVA, Virgina Tech, Rutgers, Penn State, Georgia, Michigan State and also Michigan.”
DE Mike Tverdov – Union
The Rutgers commit faced off against a pair of his future teammates this past week as he continues to get ready for what has the potential to be a huge season.
“I had a great quad scrimmage this past Tuesday against Phillipsburg, St. John Vianney, and Warren Hills,” Tverdov said. “Even though we weren’t allowed to hit the quarterback, I still managed to finish with what would’ve been 3 sacks. I also had 3 tackles and even a reception on offense. If you saw me play today, there is no reason why I’m not a top 10 player in state. I went up against Micah and gave him some work and I think I lined up against Jamaal once as well.”
Hayek Brothers
One of the surprise commitments of the summer was 6-foot-4 Wayne Hills wide receiver/safety Tyler Hayek. He is one of three Hayeks playing for Wayne Hills. He is joined by twin brother Hunter, who holds offers from Army and Stony Brook. Younger brother Jaren, a sophomore, is expected to break through to the varsity squad this year as well.
After transferring from St. Joe’s of Montvale after the start of their junior season, Tyler and Hunter were slow to break into the Wayne Hills offense. However, they immediately found a home on the defensive side of the ball. They showed enough to turn some heads in the spring evaluation period.
“After a couple camps, coaches kept coming up to Tyler and said they liked what they saw,” said their father, Vic Hayek. “Coach Busch came up to Wayne Hills after he was told that there were a few players he might be interested in. He said that he wanted to see my sons at camp. I guess he liked what he saw and it snowballed at that point.”
Unfortunately for Hunter, a pulled groin suffered during track season prevented him from making a splash on the camp circuit.
“A lot of people have slept on Hunter because he pulled his groin during track, so he couldn’t get to all of the camps. But as you saw today in the scrimmage, once the ball gets in his hands, he is exciting,” said Wayne Hills head coach Wayne Demikoff. “We just threw a quick bubble screen to Hunter today, and he made a great run, made some people miss.”
If Mr. Hayek has his way, the fully recuperated Hunter will show enough on the field this year to earn a scholarship from the Scarlet Knights.
“I would like to see them both go to Rutgers,” said Vic Hayek. “We went to other schools on visits, and I always compare it to Rutgers. We haven’t found anything that compares.”
DB Naijee Jones – Timber Creek
The first commit to RU’s class of 2017 has been in contact with the RU staff so frequently, it would seem that he is still an uncommitted prospect. Jones talked about that and how he’s prepping for the upcoming season.
“I’m mostly just working on everything. I had a scrimmage last week vs. St. Joe’s of Hammonton. I thought I did pretty well even though the 1’s were done pretty fast. I’m still on board with everything happening at Rutgers currently. I talk to coaches Ash or Hewitt on the daily. It’s mostly about working hard, and they just make sure I’m doing what I have to do."
ATH Bryce Watts – Toms River North
The talented athlete missed a good portion of last season with injury, but he’s back this year and if his early performance is any indication, it should be a big year for the RU commit.
“We scrimmaged Point Pleasant Boro on Tuesday. I finished the game with 3 catches for 170 yards and two returns for 65 yards,” Watts said. “I’m still in contact every day with Rutgers. I usually talk to coaches Ash, Hewitt, Burnham, Henry and Spittal the most. They mostly just tell me to continue my grind and make every day productive. I’m definitely going to make it up to a practice soon."
TE Matt Alaimo – St. Joseph’s Regional
Tight end recruiting in the class of 2018 has already begun and Alaimo has popped up the Rutgers radar in the early going with an early offer.
“I haven’t really talked to anyone other than Rutgers," Alaimo said. "I like the coaching staff, plus it’s close to home, and it’s nice to have the ability to play for my home state.”
Alaimo is a player to keep an eye on this fall as a breakout season could really jumpstart his recruitment. Getting in early could also pay off for the RU staff.
ATH Elijah McAllister – Rumson Fair Haven
The class of 2018 prospect projects best as a tight end at the college level and is already in the process of planning out some visits for the fall.
“I’m currently working on scheduling some visits right now,” McAllister said. “I plan on going to Tennessee on Sept 1st, Rutgers on October 8th, and Penn State on October 22nd. Right now I’m hearing the most from Rutgers and Penn State. I talk to Coach Burnham from Rutgers a lot, and we most just talk about it’s a great place and how I can be part of the revolution.”
DB Edwin Lopez – Woodrow Wilson
Yesterday, Lopez was part of a quad scrimmage with Timber Creek, Paramus Catholic and Brick Township. Wilson head coach Preston Brown shared his thoughts on how Lopez performed.
“Edwin did really well on defense today as per usual. He ended up actually tweaking his groin later on in the afternoon, so we shut him down after 10 minutes into the Timber Creek scrimmage. He is good to go and actually wanted to go back in, but I told him to just shut it down. No need to risk anything in a scrimmage."
Team Tidbits
Grading the players
The new RU strength staff has installed a system for grading players in the weight room and it is done according to position group. The players are graded in separate categories which are Attitude, Effort/Toughness, Accountability and Performance. Heading into this week, the running backs featured Trey Sneed on top while Ross Douglas led the cornerbacks, Marcus Applefield led the O-line, Vance Matthews led the receivers, Quanzell Lambert led the d-line, Kevin Marquez led the linebackers and Anthony Cioffi led the safeties.
New walk-on
Earlier this week, it was posted that freshman wide receiver Jelani Ray Garvin will walk on to the Rutgers football squad. According to his HUDL page, Garvin is 5-foot-10, 165 pounds. He graduated Northern Highlands in 2015 and embarked on a “gap year” that ultimately led him to continue his career at Rutgers.
If the name Garvin sounds familiar, fans might recall his brother, Michael Ray Garvin, who was a star 4-star corner/receiver out of Don Bosco. The do-everything athlete was known for his world-class track speed, which made an impact all over the field. He went on to Florida State, where he was a standout on both the football field and track.
Scarlet Nation caught up with his father, Johnny Ray Garvin, to discuss his son’s journey.
“He played primarily defense at Bergen Catholic and had some great years there, but by his senior year there was some discomfort and he decided to transfer so he could play some offense. He is a defensive minded guy, but he has that gear for offense. He wanted to play both sides, and he had a chance to show what he could do [at Northern Highlights].”
Following his senior season, Jelani wasn’t faced with the same options that his brother had when navigating the recruiting waters ten years earlier.
“He took a year off. He worked a job,” said Johnny Ray. “That helped him build himself up. He ran on his own, did some training. He is one year out of high school; actually he is 20 years old today. The year off let him get his focus and decide which school is right for him.”
The right fit was Rutgers.
“He was born here in the state of New Jersey,” said Johnny Ray. “He is a New Jersey boy. He is right at home. All the guys that are down there, he competed with in Pop Warner. He competed with them in high school, too. The smart decision was that, if he has to walk on, let’s walk on at our home school.”
Denman rising to the challenge
Fifth-year senior J.J. Denman was the latest player to be knighted yesterday, along with John Tsimis. Denman has risen to the challenge as he has been battling Zack Heeman for the right to start at right tackle. Denman played a bit more physical than Heeman throughout camp and is expected to be the opening day starter at the position.
Trey Sneed on his first year at Rutgers:
“It’s been exciting and you can feel the buzz around the program. Since January, we have been hitting it hard. There has not been any rest up until now. We are trying to learn, get better and get as good as we can get for that September 3rd game against Washington.”
Quanzell Lambert on playing under a new coaching staff:
“I went through the whole thing with [Greg] Schiano leaving as a recruit. So I would not let anything like that faze me as a fifth-year senior.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five Breakout Player Candidates
5.) Dacoven Bailey
4.) Ron’Dell Carter
3.) Tariq Cole
2.) Trey Sneed
1.) Jawuan Harris
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers will play two true freshman in the season opener
Recruiting Tidbits
LB Drew Singleton – Paramus Catholic
The state’s top senior continues to be a high priority target for Rutgers as head coach Chris Ash is making a strong effort to keep him in state. Scarlet Nation has learned that Rutgers is right up among Singleton’s top schools, along with Clemson. The Singleton family will be keeping a close eye on Rutgers this season and if the Scarlet Knights can be competitive, it would go a long way towards landing a commitment from Singleton. Ash has really done well considering Rutgers was not in the running for Singleton prior to his arrival from Ohio State.
OL Mekhi Becton – Highland Springs (Va.)
Rutgers made the final seven for the four-star prospect and the staff remains hard at work trying to recruit him. Becton updated Scarlet Nation on the latest in his recruitment.
“Nothing new really going on, I’m just working hard and getting ready for this upcoming season. I talk to Coach Blazek the most from Rutgers, just about every other day. He’s been telling me that I’m a real dominant player that they need at their program. I don’t have any plans yet to but I will visit Rutgers before I make any decisions. I’m currently hearing the most from UVA, Virgina Tech, Rutgers, Penn State, Georgia, Michigan State and also Michigan.”
DE Mike Tverdov – Union
The Rutgers commit faced off against a pair of his future teammates this past week as he continues to get ready for what has the potential to be a huge season.
“I had a great quad scrimmage this past Tuesday against Phillipsburg, St. John Vianney, and Warren Hills,” Tverdov said. “Even though we weren’t allowed to hit the quarterback, I still managed to finish with what would’ve been 3 sacks. I also had 3 tackles and even a reception on offense. If you saw me play today, there is no reason why I’m not a top 10 player in state. I went up against Micah and gave him some work and I think I lined up against Jamaal once as well.”
Hayek Brothers
One of the surprise commitments of the summer was 6-foot-4 Wayne Hills wide receiver/safety Tyler Hayek. He is one of three Hayeks playing for Wayne Hills. He is joined by twin brother Hunter, who holds offers from Army and Stony Brook. Younger brother Jaren, a sophomore, is expected to break through to the varsity squad this year as well.
After transferring from St. Joe’s of Montvale after the start of their junior season, Tyler and Hunter were slow to break into the Wayne Hills offense. However, they immediately found a home on the defensive side of the ball. They showed enough to turn some heads in the spring evaluation period.
“After a couple camps, coaches kept coming up to Tyler and said they liked what they saw,” said their father, Vic Hayek. “Coach Busch came up to Wayne Hills after he was told that there were a few players he might be interested in. He said that he wanted to see my sons at camp. I guess he liked what he saw and it snowballed at that point.”
Unfortunately for Hunter, a pulled groin suffered during track season prevented him from making a splash on the camp circuit.
“A lot of people have slept on Hunter because he pulled his groin during track, so he couldn’t get to all of the camps. But as you saw today in the scrimmage, once the ball gets in his hands, he is exciting,” said Wayne Hills head coach Wayne Demikoff. “We just threw a quick bubble screen to Hunter today, and he made a great run, made some people miss.”
If Mr. Hayek has his way, the fully recuperated Hunter will show enough on the field this year to earn a scholarship from the Scarlet Knights.
“I would like to see them both go to Rutgers,” said Vic Hayek. “We went to other schools on visits, and I always compare it to Rutgers. We haven’t found anything that compares.”
DB Naijee Jones – Timber Creek
The first commit to RU’s class of 2017 has been in contact with the RU staff so frequently, it would seem that he is still an uncommitted prospect. Jones talked about that and how he’s prepping for the upcoming season.
“I’m mostly just working on everything. I had a scrimmage last week vs. St. Joe’s of Hammonton. I thought I did pretty well even though the 1’s were done pretty fast. I’m still on board with everything happening at Rutgers currently. I talk to coaches Ash or Hewitt on the daily. It’s mostly about working hard, and they just make sure I’m doing what I have to do."
ATH Bryce Watts – Toms River North
The talented athlete missed a good portion of last season with injury, but he’s back this year and if his early performance is any indication, it should be a big year for the RU commit.
“We scrimmaged Point Pleasant Boro on Tuesday. I finished the game with 3 catches for 170 yards and two returns for 65 yards,” Watts said. “I’m still in contact every day with Rutgers. I usually talk to coaches Ash, Hewitt, Burnham, Henry and Spittal the most. They mostly just tell me to continue my grind and make every day productive. I’m definitely going to make it up to a practice soon."
TE Matt Alaimo – St. Joseph’s Regional
Tight end recruiting in the class of 2018 has already begun and Alaimo has popped up the Rutgers radar in the early going with an early offer.
“I haven’t really talked to anyone other than Rutgers," Alaimo said. "I like the coaching staff, plus it’s close to home, and it’s nice to have the ability to play for my home state.”
Alaimo is a player to keep an eye on this fall as a breakout season could really jumpstart his recruitment. Getting in early could also pay off for the RU staff.
ATH Elijah McAllister – Rumson Fair Haven
The class of 2018 prospect projects best as a tight end at the college level and is already in the process of planning out some visits for the fall.
“I’m currently working on scheduling some visits right now,” McAllister said. “I plan on going to Tennessee on Sept 1st, Rutgers on October 8th, and Penn State on October 22nd. Right now I’m hearing the most from Rutgers and Penn State. I talk to Coach Burnham from Rutgers a lot, and we most just talk about it’s a great place and how I can be part of the revolution.”
DB Edwin Lopez – Woodrow Wilson
Yesterday, Lopez was part of a quad scrimmage with Timber Creek, Paramus Catholic and Brick Township. Wilson head coach Preston Brown shared his thoughts on how Lopez performed.
“Edwin did really well on defense today as per usual. He ended up actually tweaking his groin later on in the afternoon, so we shut him down after 10 minutes into the Timber Creek scrimmage. He is good to go and actually wanted to go back in, but I told him to just shut it down. No need to risk anything in a scrimmage."
Team Tidbits
Grading the players
The new RU strength staff has installed a system for grading players in the weight room and it is done according to position group. The players are graded in separate categories which are Attitude, Effort/Toughness, Accountability and Performance. Heading into this week, the running backs featured Trey Sneed on top while Ross Douglas led the cornerbacks, Marcus Applefield led the O-line, Vance Matthews led the receivers, Quanzell Lambert led the d-line, Kevin Marquez led the linebackers and Anthony Cioffi led the safeties.
New walk-on
Earlier this week, it was posted that freshman wide receiver Jelani Ray Garvin will walk on to the Rutgers football squad. According to his HUDL page, Garvin is 5-foot-10, 165 pounds. He graduated Northern Highlands in 2015 and embarked on a “gap year” that ultimately led him to continue his career at Rutgers.
If the name Garvin sounds familiar, fans might recall his brother, Michael Ray Garvin, who was a star 4-star corner/receiver out of Don Bosco. The do-everything athlete was known for his world-class track speed, which made an impact all over the field. He went on to Florida State, where he was a standout on both the football field and track.
Scarlet Nation caught up with his father, Johnny Ray Garvin, to discuss his son’s journey.
“He played primarily defense at Bergen Catholic and had some great years there, but by his senior year there was some discomfort and he decided to transfer so he could play some offense. He is a defensive minded guy, but he has that gear for offense. He wanted to play both sides, and he had a chance to show what he could do [at Northern Highlights].”
Following his senior season, Jelani wasn’t faced with the same options that his brother had when navigating the recruiting waters ten years earlier.
“He took a year off. He worked a job,” said Johnny Ray. “That helped him build himself up. He ran on his own, did some training. He is one year out of high school; actually he is 20 years old today. The year off let him get his focus and decide which school is right for him.”
The right fit was Rutgers.
“He was born here in the state of New Jersey,” said Johnny Ray. “He is a New Jersey boy. He is right at home. All the guys that are down there, he competed with in Pop Warner. He competed with them in high school, too. The smart decision was that, if he has to walk on, let’s walk on at our home school.”
Denman rising to the challenge
Fifth-year senior J.J. Denman was the latest player to be knighted yesterday, along with John Tsimis. Denman has risen to the challenge as he has been battling Zack Heeman for the right to start at right tackle. Denman played a bit more physical than Heeman throughout camp and is expected to be the opening day starter at the position.
